The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided not to rush into announcing its candidate for the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s post because the party is focussed on finalising the distribution of ministerial portfolios within the party-dominated Mahayuti government, according to official sources.

A decision on who will lead the state will be delayed until the coalition’s internal discussions on cabinet formation are completed.

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In a related development, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has stated that Eknath Shinde is unhappy after he got to know that the BJP top brass has chosen Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

“The BJP has got 132 seats and hence I think there should be a way, Devendra Fadnavis should be made the CM. Eknath Shinde can assume the charge of deputy CM. If he is not willing to be the deputy CM, he can be made union minister in PM Modi’s cabinet. The people of Maharashtra want Devendra Fadnavis to be the CM,” Athawale said.

Sources said that Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has been “aggressive” in trying to become Maharashtra Chief Minister again, while the BJP top brass is busy handling the situation cautiously.

Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai has gone on record that as a Shiv Sainik, he believes that his party’s leader, Eknath Shinde, must get the Maharashtra CM’s post.

“Every party feels that a leader of their own party should get the CM post. If you ask me, as a Shiv Sainik, I would say that our main leader Eknath Shinde should get the CM post. The same goes for BJP leaders who want Devendra Fadnavis to get the post. But all three leaders will sit together and discuss. A solution would come out after discussions,” Desai said.